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Article by Kogan Sheldon, Program Assistant at San Francisco Zen Center
Photos by Margo Moritz

Mick and his assistant, Mary, start the day in the Green Gulch Bread Bakery at 4 a.m. on a Thursday. By 10:00 a.m., they have full racks of new loaves. By 10:40 a.m. most have disappeared–put away or distributed to the community. Mick and Mary are still at work, cleaning up. “Thirty per cent of this work is housekeeping,” Mick says cheerfully. Later, at 1 p.m., generous with both his time and his bread, he sits down with me for an interview.

by Amity Bacon, Writer and Zen Practitioner at San Francisco Zen Center

Taking stock of what is essential and creating a clearer, more organized way of life is something that Andrew Mellen knows a little something about. Called the “most organized man in America,” he has spent years helping others “unstuff” their lives.Read more

On Sunday, April 7, San Francisco Zen Center will host a very special gathering to honor Mitsu Suzuki Sensei, the wife of Suzuki Roshi, haiku poet, teacher of the Japanese tea ceremony for many of us, teacher, friend, and mother to many more. We will start at 3 pm in the Buddha Hall with a short tea ceremony and follow with an offering of Japanese green tea and sweet cake for all attending.
This event is by registration only. The cost is $25, please send your payment before Friday, March 29.Read more

I’m grateful to those SFZC sangha news readers who requested a statement from SFZC leadership in response to the NYTimes article citing allegations of abusive behavior toward female students by a well-known Japanese Rinzai Zen teacher.Read more

Green Gulch Farm celebrated its annual Seed Sowing Ceremony on February 27th with a plein-air ceremony at the mouth of the sowing shed on the farm. Reverend Fu Shroeder presided before an altar dedicated to seeds, and outgoing tenzo Gyokuden Steph Wenderski sounded the inken which led the procession in the fresh air of morning.

In May, Central Abbot Myōgen Steve Stücky and naturalist Steven Harper will pair up to lead The Nature of Zen, a four-day retreat that combines Zen meditation practice with exploring the Ventana wilderness. This retreat has not only become an annual tradition at Tassajara, but it harks back to the longstanding Zen and Taoist tradition of appreciating nature, the source of our existence.

Last Sunday, March 3, some of us participating in the Spring Practice Period ventured out from City Center to Berkeley so we could take in the musical story of the life of the Buddha, The Fourth Messenger­­ (book and lyrics by Tanya Shaffer and music and lyrics by Vienna Teng). The trip was supported by a generous gift of discounted tickets for our SFZC’s City Center residential and practice period students.Read more

The role of parent comes with its share of joys and challenges, at times leading us into terrain we are not prepared for. The spot we want to arrive at is not found on any map, though we continually steer towards it in our hearts.Read more

Sangha News Articles Archives: 2005-2011

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San Francisco Zen Center is a practice place for a diverse population of students, visitors, lay people, priests, and monks guided by teachers who follow in Suzuki Roshi's style of warm hand and heart to warm hand and heart. All are welcome. Contact us at: sanghanews@sfzc.org